So I had two completely different experiences in Khao Yai, one luxury 5* hotel and one in a small camping hut in the actual national park. Both were enjoyable but the camping hut was my personal favourite.

If you’re looking for something a little different and are a nature lover who likes undiscovered places then Khao Yai is for you.

Getting there;

Khao Yai is about a three hour drive from Bangkok, its easy enough to hire a car in Thailand, I found that Europcar are the most user friendly. Depending on your location around the area the drive could be longer or shorter.  Another alternative would be to hire a driver for the trip if you’re staying put in one place, or motorbikes would be another albeit slightly more uncomfortable option.

Motorbikes would be my suggestion for getting around the park too, just watch out for the monkeys, if you do have a car the roads inside the park are good quality and very quiet, the park is huge so you definitely need wheels of some sort.

Accommodation

On my first trip I stayed in the U Khoa Yai, a small five star hotel in the hills surrounding the park. It was fairly new when I stayed there but I’m not sure it will age so well.  There is a nice pool area and the grounds are very pretty, it was quite entertaining watching the instacouples doing their photo shoots with various costumes and props. The rooms are lovely, with a little reading chair and a small balcony with views of the mountains and the greenery.  The restaurant is a bit pants with a standard Thai Western fusion offering that was neither here nor there but because the hotel is a little isolated there aren’t really other options.

My second trip was far more exciting, a camping hut inside the national park.  This was booked by the national park website and you pick up a map (To find the hut) and the keys from the main park centre. It cost about $7 a night for a one bed unit that had a fan and an indoor bathroom with shower. The unit also had power and we took a small electric induction cooker and a kettle so we could cook, but you could also take a BBQ for grilling. The hut is set in a row of about 20, at night it is pitch black and you get occasional visits from deer and monkeys.  During the early morning the monkeys come and visit banging on the roof and jumping all over the decks.  Other people I spoke to also reported Elephant sitings at the hut area too. They’re clean and very basic, it’s worthwhile remembering that you’re in the jungle so expect insects and lots of wildlife noise during the night.

What to do

I spent two nights there and probably could have spent an extra day. There are loads of walks, trails, waterfalls and lookout points.  There are organised night safaris for about THB 400 which was quite good fun, we saw deers, porcupines and monkeys but its just kind of fun driving around in an open top jeep in the dark. There are day safaris but if you have your own wheels you can just drive around yourself.  There is a Bat Cave advertised, I tried to find it by car and ended up off road at a dead end - so give it a go and I’d be interested to hear if anyone found it.

I also woke up at 5am every morning and did sunrise and sunset watching at one of the Salt Licks as I was desperate to see a wild elephant, much to my disappointment this didn’t happen but they are there and people do see them.

Another fun thing that I stumbled across was Khun Dan Prakan Chon Dam.  On the drive home there was a sign for the Dam so, you know, why not? At the Dam there are loads of water activities, one of which is a boat trip for about THB 500.  The boat drive takes you up the reservoir and it feels like you’re in the Swiss Alps, its so clean, and quiet and pretty and then he stops and points in the general direction of a stream. So you get off the boat and walk for about 20 minutes up a waterfall.  This happens about five times during the trip and some of the waterfalls are pretty big, at one point I was walking sideways on a sheer cliff holding on to only a rope…. A lot of fun, very unexpected, stunning pictures and the best part - next to no people! Definitely wear trainers that you don’t mind getting wet and take water as some of the walks are quite long. I would highly recommend this, it really is so pretty and totally undiscovered.

Warnings

Leeches are EVERYWHERE, at first I laughed at the people in leach socks, however after pulling about 50 of my shoes and ankles I was pretty envious! There are also plenty of spiders and other creepy crawly’s, I don’t travel without a small first aid kit and would recommend one.

Do not feed the monkeys, eat around the monkeys or walk through a nest of monkeys, they are vicious and they will chase and bite you. (On a separate note - make sure your vaccinations are up to date).

Eating

I didn’t eat out in Khao Yai so I can’t really comment here.  There are a few local options inside the park which looked like noodles other than that there isn’t really anything of note. You can’t beat a BBQ’d sausage or steak and an ice cold Singh though, just remember to pick up ice, drinking water and a cool bag.